Health

(March 23, 2020 9:03 PM) Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced today that absent voter ballot applications will be mailed by her office to all voters in the May 5 election to help ensure both public health and democratic rights are protected. “Our country has a long history of carrying out elections in times of crisis, and we are fortunate to have the tools to uphold that history today,” said Benson. “Voting by mail protects public health, is highly accessible, and was clearly mandated by Michiganders when they overwhelmingly voted in 2018 to amend our state constitution and afford everyone this right.” For the past two weeks, Secretary Benson has been working with clerks across the state to determine if they need to hold an election in May, or if the entity placing the item on their ballot could postpone to August. The majority of the questions on the May ballots are school district millages and bonds, and many districts have postponed. Benson gave clerks and the entities a few more days this week to make their decision. For the entities that do not postpone (in several cases, because existing critical funds would expire), the Bureau of Elections will mail…

(March 23, 2020 8:55 PM) Starting tomorrow, all 131 Michigan Secretary of State branch offices will be closed as part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order. The governor announced at a press conference today that the order would take effect at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow. “I fully support Gov. Whitmer and the leadership she is demonstrating by issuing a stay-at-home order,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “I have been communicating with her for some time on this issue, and know this is necessary to protect health of our employees and the public.” The order states that all non-critical-infrastructure workers stay home. Therefore, the Department of State is temporarily unable to provide in-person transactions and renewals by mail. Many services will remain available online at Michigan.gov/SOS, although there may be some delays in processing. The Department will continue to provide election-related services not offered in branch offices, and at Michigan.gov/Vote. Late fees will be waived for expirations that have occurred since the department first shifted branch operations on March 16. Michigan State Police have been notified of our limited operations and asked to notify local law enforcement agencies. The Department of State will work directly with the professional associations of critical…

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has assigned a team of special agents to assist her attorneys in gathering information related to the high number of price-gouging complaints the Attorney General’s office has been receiving during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Criminal investigators will help the office visit stores to evaluate details of consumer complaints, assist with online research to compare pricing, and receive phone calls or letters from consumers. The latest tally of price-gouging complaints received by the Attorney General’s office is 1,417, which includes 585 written complaints received as of 7 a.m. today and 832 complaints received by phone as of 5 p.m. Saturday. The Attorney General’s office is also recognizing the help of consumers in policing the market by shaming gougers on social media and sharing their experiences and receipts with the Attorney General’s office. Investigators have noticed a positive shift in the market, partly because of these efforts. In several instances last week, the Attorney General’s investigators visited stores and found that, if there had been elevated prices, the situation had been corrected. However, that work is just beginning. The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection intake team continues to receive new complaints of price-gouging and investigators are…

Updated to include video link (UPDATED March 23, 2020 5:45 PM) The Jackson City Council held a special meeting this afternoon. Mayor Derek Dobies was the only member physically in the Council Chambers. He presided over the meeting, which occurred with all other councilmembers and officials joining by phone or video conference. The meeting was broadcast live on cable Channel 21 and on the City’s Facebook page.  The meeting is  available on demand on JTV.TV and will replay on Channel 21 at 10 AM, 4 PM and 7 PM.    The council unanimously approved the Consent Calendar, which included two alley vacations, two mowing contracts, and a new dehumidification system for the Water Treatment Plant. The council also reviewed the City’s Local State of Emergency. It was declared last week by Mayor Derek Dobies as a response to the coronavirus. The council voted 6-1 to extended the State of Emergency until further notice. Councilmember Jeromy Alexander was the only councilmember to vote against it. The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Tuesday, March 31. City officials are also planning to hold it in a format similar to today’s meeting.

(Updated March 23, 2020 5:18 PM) Update:  Jackson Public Schools will be providing food service through April 10 and continue the same hours and locations. Vandercook Lake Schools is offering delivery.  Meals can be delivered by filling out the form on the district's website here. Since this listing was first published, the Governor extended the school closure order through April 13.   The first day schools can return to class is Tuesday, April 14, after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday ordered Michigan residents to stay in their homes through midnight, April 13. Schools had previously been ordered closed by Whitmer for three weeks, with classes possibly reopening April 6. As other Jackson County School Districts adjust their meal service schedule, this post will be updated. All Jackson County school districts will be providing breakfast and lunch during the state mandated school shutdown. This is the complete list of Jackson County school districts, sites and hours.  Jackson Public Schools listed first, followed by all other Jackson County school districts in alphabetical order. Please note the days and times for each district. ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS are providing meals and you do not have to live in that particular district.  Each district meal service…